Dept. Of Transportation Approves Nearly $14M Bridge Reconstruction Project In Owasso

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has approved a nearly $14 million bridge improvement project in Owasso. 

The Highway 169 bridges over 76th Street north will now be updated, impacting a lot of drivers. Drivers say an update to the bridge is needed to help with the daily traffic jams in Owasso, and it will especially help during rush hour. 

Bob Christian says getting to and from work along Highway 169 over 76th Street North, isn’t always easy.

“Especially in the afternoon, that 5 o clock rush hour,” he said. 

Bob says almost every day, traffic bottlenecks as cars try to get down the highway. He was hopeful the last bit of construction along 169 would help, but says he was disappointed when the work wasn’t extended to the 76th street north bridges. 

“It made traffic worse for quite a long time, going to and from Owasso down 169, and the end result was all it did was move the bottleneck maybe a mile up the road,” he said. 

The traffic issues could improve thanks to a nearly $14 million reconstruction project on the bridges just approved by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Tydon Johnsons owns Slade Personal Training just off the highway, and says he sees traffic issues daily and improvements to the bridges could get more people to his business.

“Being right off the expressway, it’s tough, especially right at 5, there are so many cars coming through there, sometimes people get backed up,” he said. 

He says the construction could cause a headache for his business while it’s happening, but that would just be for a short time. 

“I think if the construction, in the long run, will make it run smoother, then it’s a good thing,” he said. 

ODOT says the project should begin in the spring, but there’s not a date yet on when it would be finished.